In Therese Raquin, the young heroine is forced into a loveless marriage with her sickly cousin, Camille. As the lifeless union begins to stifle her, she meets Camille's passionate friend Laurent, with whom she falls in love and begins a descent into adultery, guilt and murder.

The founder of literature's naturalist movement, Zola is best known for his "Therese Raquin," although he also penned "Germinal" and was outspoken in defending falsely accused French Jewish officer Alfred Dreyfus.

Valerie Leonard stars as Therese, with Daryl Lozupone as Camille and Christopher Lane as Laurent. Also in the cast are Helen-Jean Arthur (Madame), James Slaughter (Michaud), Tim Carlin (Grivet), Kathleen Coons (Suzanne) and Peter Finnegan (Olivier).

The set, framed in decaying gilding, is by James Kronzer and the costumes, based on both colors and designs of Claude Monet's painting, "Camille on Her Deathbed," are by Debra K. Sivigny. Six-time Helen Hayes winner Daniel MacLean Wagner did the lighting, with David McKeever on sound. Tickets are $32-$15. The Olney Theatre Center for the Arts is located at 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road. For tickets and information, call (301) 924-3400. The Olney Theatre is on the web at http://www.olneytheatre.org.